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Scott Peterson - The murder of Laci Peterson documentary. — Transcript

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0:00[Music]
0:04tonight
0:05the untold story how investigators
0:07brought scott peterson
0:09to justice first officers had a gut
0:12feeling
0:12did you murder your wife amber did you
0:16know that scott was a married man
0:17we did have a romantic relationship with
0:20suspicion
0:21i mean it was just unbelievable how many
0:22lives this guy told the evidence
0:25we have not eliminated the fact that it
0:27may be a female victim
0:29the only thing that always stood the
0:31test of suspicion was scott
0:48scott peterson today we know he
0:51perpetrated one of the most notorious
0:52crimes in recent years
0:54the murder of his pregnant wife lacy and
0:56his unborn child
0:58i covered the scott peterson case from
1:00beginning to end
1:01and in my book a deadly game i wrote
1:03about the meticulous work of these
1:05investigators
1:06tonight we'll go behind the scenes and
1:08behind the headlines
1:10to see exactly how they solve this
1:12mystery and hear for the first time
1:14about the painstaking police work that
1:17brought a killer
1:18to justice april 13
1:222003 the intact body of a baby boy
1:25washes up on the shore of san francisco
1:28bay
1:30the next day one mile to the south
1:33the badly decomposed torso and lower
1:35body of a woman washes up
1:37plaid in a nursing bra and maternity
1:40paths
1:41the body is an adult female and as we
1:44speak right now
1:45the autopsy is being performed the
1:48bodies are those of lacie peterson and
1:50her unborn
1:51son missing for almost four months
1:55it confirms the worst fears of a nation
1:58riveted by this case
2:01it was a mystery that began four months
2:03earlier
2:04christmas eve 2002 modesto california
2:085 17 pm scott peterson calls sharon
2:11rocha to tell her that her daughter
2:13lacey is missing
2:15they're expected at sharon's for dinner
2:17in just a little while
2:19lacey is eight months pregnant and
2:21always reliable
2:22she would never just disappear something
2:25seems
2:26terribly wrong lacie was very
2:28conscientious
2:29very calculated person i i knew
2:31something was wrong
2:34at 5 47 lacey's stepfather calls the
2:37modesto police to make a missing
2:39person's report
2:41normally authorities would wait 24 to 48
2:44hours to start a search
2:46modesto police chief roy wasden reveals
2:48for the first time
2:50why in this particular instance his men
2:53make an exception
2:54this is an adult missing person eight
2:56months pregnant
2:58can find no reason for her to be missing
3:00none at all
3:02one of the big things is the victim
3:03profile and looking at your victim
3:05especially with the circumstances you
3:06have here
3:07holidays coming up family plans get
3:10togethers
3:11being pregnant getting ready to give
3:12birth that showed us that
3:15you know she didn't go to cleveland and
3:17you know start doing drugs
3:19[Music]
3:21the police arrive at the peterson house
3:23and start questioning scott
3:25he claims lacey was planning to walk
3:27their dog in a local park that morning
3:30and he went fishing on san francisco bay
3:33and then he does something that
3:34astonishes police unasked
3:37he pulls out his parking receipt is he
3:39establishing an alibi already
3:42detective brookini reveals what else
3:44detectives find fishy
3:46he couldn't say what he was fishing for
3:48he didn't know what kind of bait he was
3:50using
3:50initially to the first officers um
3:54they they just had they had the you know
3:56cop gut
3:57instinct that you know something just
3:59isn't right here at the peterson house
4:01it didn't take long for investigators to
4:03become suspicious of scott's behavior
4:05he just wasn't acting the way a husband
4:07would if his pregnant wife turned up
4:09missing
4:11the first officers had a gut feeling and
4:14they told the sergeant
4:16so he calls a watch commander who says
4:18we need a detective
4:19the call comes to my home on christmas
4:21eve and really it's for me a feedback of
4:24here's what we're being told here's what
4:25we see
4:26here's what our concerns are here's what
4:28we believe we need to do immediately
4:31detective rokini handles the
4:33investigation from day one
4:35arriving at the peterson house at 9 25
4:37pm
4:39it's been four hours since the missing
4:41person's call came in
4:42but already police are treating lacy's
4:44disappearance
4:46as suspicious when you approach scott
4:50tell me about that first encounter i
4:51just introduced myself to him
4:53and i told him that i was you know going
4:55to be there to help and
4:57i asked him if he would walk me through
4:59his day and walk me through his house
5:02over the next four hours rokini does an
5:04intensive search of scott peterson's
5:06house and a property
5:08but it's scott's odd reactions that
5:10really pique his interest
5:12for example when he accidentally bumps
5:15the door of scott's truck
5:16into lacey's car and he came right over
5:20with a glove that he was wearing he says
5:22look
5:22either move i'll move my truck or i'll
5:25hold this glove in there so you don't
5:26scratch my car and i was
5:28i said i'll be careful don't worry what
5:30did the
5:31putting at the glove between the
5:33vehicles say to you
5:35just said his major concern wasn't lacie
5:38by evening the hunt is on for lacey
5:41helicopters
5:42officers and search dogs all comb the
5:45area
5:46that night scott's father-in-law tells
5:48police that scott told him
5:50he'd been golfing that day but didn't he
5:52already tell police he'd been fishing
5:55it's a direct conflict and it's not lost
5:58on investigators
5:59he would fabricate things or you know
6:01lie about things that he didn't have to
6:02we never really were able to figure out
6:04exactly why he did
6:06it as brookini inventory scott's house
6:10and cars
6:11he continues making mental notes of all
6:13the things that bother him
6:16among them after scott came home he took
6:18his time before alerting anyone that
6:20lacey was missing
6:22first he washed the clothes he'd worn
6:24that day
6:25then he had a snack showered and changed
6:28his clothes
6:29detectives find this strange for a man
6:31desperate to locate his wife
6:33but more than anything it's the laundry
6:35that catches brokini's attention
6:38why would scott only wash his own
6:40clothes when there was a basket full of
6:42dirty laundry in his bedroom
6:44and a pile of dirty rags right on top of
6:46the washer
6:47i saw these big dirty rags and i
6:49couldn't see anything in the house that
6:51how they could be that dirty and what
6:53are they doing on the washing machine
6:54and why'd he wash his clothes then there
6:57are scots claim that lacy had planned to
6:59walk the dog in a local park that
7:01morning
7:02police just don't find it well there's a
7:05rather steep
7:06incline for a pregnant gal who's not
7:08feeling good not moving good not very
7:10athletic at that stage of her pregnancy
7:12to take the dog and go down there that
7:13seemed unreasonable to us
7:16in scott's truck the detective finds
7:18brand new fishing gear still in the
7:20package
7:20patio umbrellas tarps and a toolbox
7:25it's only five hours now since lacey was
7:27reported missing
7:29but police have already stopped treating
7:31this like a missing person's case
7:33in their gut they think it's a homicide
7:36and they begin treating it like
7:37one they take crime scene photos and one
7:41of them grabs their attention
7:43it shows a comforter that looks like a
7:45body was laid across it
7:47something else lacey's jewelry and purse
7:49are there
7:50and they are told she always took those
7:52with her
7:53just a lot of little things like that
7:55that just
7:57he made me think that you know we you
7:59know we're doing the right thing we're
8:01heading in the right direction at least
8:02looking into this case
8:06at 11 17 the detective and another
8:08officer accompanied scott to his office
8:11scott's a fertilizer salesman operating
8:13out of a warehouse in an industrial
8:15section of modesto
8:18there brokini finds a 14-foot boat
8:21a homemade anchor and signs that more
8:23anchors had been made
8:25could they have been used to weigh down
8:27lacy's body in the bay
8:30finally at midnight they go back to
8:32headquarters
8:33where detective brokini formally
8:35interviews scott peterson
8:37recording every word he says but if
8:40scott is scared
8:41or distraught he certainly doesn't show
8:44it i asked him to sit down i went into
8:46the
8:46viewing room to plug in a tape and i
8:49could see him he was sitting there
8:50with his hands in his pocket and he's
8:52almost like leaning back in his chair
8:54you made notes about his behavior during
8:56the course of the interview
8:58sort of callous laid back
9:03given your experience that body language
9:06that behavior has to be telling you an
9:08awful lot
9:08what it told me was that i need to ask
9:10more questions and we need
9:12i need to call in a couple more
9:13detectives you know this is suspicious
9:16she's not out at shopping and not
9:17showing up i mean
9:19something bad's happening in my stomach
9:21that's what i felt
9:23the story hasn't even been reported yet
9:26but already just
9:27hours into the case scott peterson is
9:29under the modesto police microscope
9:39[Music]
9:42christmas day 2002 it's been just
9:4524 hours since lacey peterson's
9:48disappearance
9:52and hundreds of people in modesto
9:54california are searching for the
9:55pregnant 2017
10:00lacey's friends and family don't know it
10:02at the time
10:03but the police are already starting to
10:05build a murder case against her husband
10:07scott peterson
10:08[Music]
10:11scott does seem emotionally detached at
10:14the time
10:15those around him figure it's just his
10:17way of coping
10:20his parents have their own explanation
10:23he showed emotion but he didn't cry
10:2524 hours a day cried privately he worked
10:28at trying to find her
10:30he um tried to keep us up you know by
10:34because we were breaking down too so
10:36he'd try to be brave for us
10:37did you ever get that that pleading i
10:40didn't do this
10:41i couldn't do this i loved my wife
10:45no i never heard that from him but
10:48you know if if this had been me and this
10:51were my husband missing i mean i'd be
10:53crying on the streets in fact scott's
10:56half-sister ann bird had always
10:58distrusted his fishing story
11:00knowing all the things lacey would have
11:02had him do on a big holiday
11:04on christmas eve when i heard that scott
11:07was out fishing
11:09i thought gosh you know how could that
11:11be he would have a honey-do list
11:13a mile long the fishing
11:16and scott's strange emotion modesto
11:18investigators find
11:20both suspicious but that's not all
11:23detective albro kini has never said this
11:25publicly
11:26but he is astounded on christmas day
11:28when scott asks a bizarre
11:30question would grief counselors be made
11:33available to lacey's family
11:35not even a day had passed since they
11:37reported her missing
11:38i told him scott it's christmas i don't
11:41think i can get you somebody today
11:43and if we find lacey you're not going to
11:45need anybody
11:46and you know he responds like well i'm
11:49going to need somebody
11:50we're going to need somebody or sharon
11:51is you know it's like he already knew
11:54we weren't going to find lacey it's one
11:57day now since the search for lacey began
11:59her family hits the airwaves in a
12:02desperate appeal for help
12:03get her home safely and run run from us
12:05we don't care just get her back to us
12:09it's strange lacey's mother is obviously
12:11clinging to hope
12:13but scott already seems to be bracing
12:15for the worst
12:16the exhaustive searches with the police
12:18and with friends and family
12:21have not discovered her so we have to
12:23look at our possibilities
12:2748 hours after the missing persons
12:29report comes in
12:30police make the hour and a half trip to
12:32the berkeley marina
12:33to check out scott's fishing alibi he
12:36told police it was raining on the bay on
12:38christmas eve
12:40but no one else reports even a drop
12:44so now police have caught scott in a
12:46blatant lie
12:48and yet another red flag goes up
12:51then on christmas day scott backs out of
12:54a polygraph test he promised to take
12:57this has to put chief roy wasden and his
13:00men on high alert
13:02but two findings that are even more
13:04damning to scott peterson
13:06first investigators discover he bought
13:08his boat without
13:09telling anyone then they learned he
13:12researched the tides and currents of san
13:14francisco bay
13:15on his computer could he have been
13:18trying to figure out the best spot to
13:20dump a body
13:21in fact he was searching those bay tides
13:24before lacey was missing
13:25like the day he bought the bow it was
13:27another little piece
13:29as police execute the search warrant
13:31they see that scots moved things around
13:33in the two days since lacey disappeared
13:38in his warehouse they see that the
13:39homemade anchor is still there
13:42so is something else that turns out to
13:44be incriminating
13:46a pair of pliers with a black hair
13:48clamped inside
13:50detective rokini and his colleagues
13:52realized they've now got something that
13:54they needed desperately
13:56a potential piece of forensic evidence
13:58against scott
13:59one of those days where we're all
14:00sitting around and thinking gosh what
14:02are we going to do now
14:03kind of a thing we need something and
14:07we see this picture of this hair and
14:09it's not like a
14:10transfer hair it's in the pliers steve
14:13police have told us this is a priority
14:16in those first days lacey's family
14:18remains in the spotlight
14:19looking for anything that might help
14:21them find her some compassion
14:23she's a human being she's pregnant she
14:25needs to take care of her baby
14:28on december 27th they hold a press
14:30conference and make a tearful plea for
14:32her safe return
14:34whoever has her please please please let
14:37her go bring her back
14:38we love her so much
14:42please have her back
14:46while publicly the police are pressing
14:48their search for lacy
14:50privately they're sure she's already
14:52dead
14:53and they're slowly piecing together
14:55their theory of exactly what happened to
14:57her
14:58and why i think she was getting ready
15:00for bed and
15:01she got strangled or smothered right
15:03there wrapped in a tarp drug out
15:05and put in the truck i think the
15:07umbrellas went in first and she went in
15:09second
15:10in a blue tarp i mean he wanted an
15:13excuse to be carrying something that big
15:15and a blue tarp and that's what the
15:16umbrellas were his excuse
15:17he just didn't want to be a dad he
15:19didn't want to be tied down he
15:21i mean just when you look at his
15:22lifestyle all the things that he wanted
15:23to do
15:24and you know being a member of the
15:25country club parenting was going to be
15:28you know a big anchor on him my opinion
15:30is his plan is wake up in the morning
15:33leave people are going to think i'm
15:35golfing
15:36but go nobody will be at the bay
15:40do my thing but there's a hitch when
15:43several people spot him at the bay
15:45that's when police say scott peterson
15:47changes his alibi
15:48from golfing to fishing whatever his
15:51story
15:52police are now sure foul play is
15:54involved that scott peterson is
15:56responsible
15:57and that it was premeditated i mean he's
16:00been planning it
16:00planned it when he bought the boat and
16:02his plan was
16:04i'm going golfing but the real plan take
16:06lacie to the bay get rid of her
16:08come back and i was golfing
16:13police don't know it yet but a new
16:15player is about to break the case
16:18wide open how long have you been seeing
16:20scott
16:23[Music]
16:29december 30th 2002 six days since lacey
16:33peterson was reported missing
16:35and now a huge break a woman calls into
16:39the police tip line
16:40claiming to be scott peterson's lover
16:43her name
16:43is amber frye modesto police chief roy
16:46wasden and his men
16:48recall how that one tip changed
16:50everything
16:51was the reaction in the department when
16:53amber frye called in
16:55it was a significant break it was
16:58important
16:59to get a more full picture of scott
17:02peterson
17:03who he was what he did how he behaved in
17:05that one paragraph tip
17:08she had too much information to be a nut
17:10i mean she knew too much
17:13investigators don't waste a second they
17:15drive straight to fresno to meet amber
17:18detective john bueller knows it right
17:20away this is a major score for the
17:22investigation
17:23it was a great meeting it yielded
17:26tremendous amount of information
17:28amber seemed to be
17:31naturally a young girl i wouldn't say
17:33naive
17:34but maybe idealistic in love and romance
17:37things like that
17:39amber tells the detective she's been
17:41seeing scott peterson only a few weeks
17:43but they're already talking marriage on
17:46december 9th
17:47she recalls he broke down sobbing that
17:49he had quote
17:50lost his wife that's the same day scott
17:53secretly bought his boat
17:55detective brokini knows he's onto
17:57something i mean he told amber that
18:00he had lost his wife when she wasn't
18:02lost
18:03and so that i mean to me that was a key
18:07the detectives asked amber to secretly
18:09record all future conversations with
18:12scott
18:12she agrees they're also determined that
18:15no one will find out about her
18:17that afternoon the detectives take amber
18:19to buy the recording equipment
18:21and then her phone rings it's scott
18:24he's caught everyone off guard i was
18:27shaking
18:28so like i was so fumbly i mean i dropped
18:30i dropped the earpiece
18:31and i'm i'm scrambling but there was no
18:33conversation at that time thankfully
18:35because i was
18:36so that's the word rattled uh
18:40fr you know it's just frazzled really
18:42frazzled and really nervous
18:44to be like in radio shack buying the
18:46equipment for her phone
18:48and we're walking out and her phone is
18:50ringing and it's him
18:51i mean i could see the caller id i know
18:52his phone number by heart
18:55scott calls amber often and he has no
18:57idea
18:58she's taping every word he lies over and
19:01over in these calls
19:03sometimes making up outrageous stories
19:06on new year's eve scott is in modesto at
19:09a candlelight vigil for his missing wife
19:12yet he calls amber and claims to be in
19:15paris
19:19hey happy new year
19:22thank you i'm right near the eiffel
19:26tower
19:26see your celebrations unreal the crowd
19:29it's huge
19:30the crowd's huge amber if you're there i
19:33can't hear you right now but i'll call
19:34you on your new years
19:42the photo of the vigil makes the front
19:44page the next day
19:46and if the public thinks scott peterson
19:48is showing his concern
19:50the police know otherwise we saw the
19:52picture of the front page of the bee and
19:54he's
19:54at the vigil but we're know what he's
19:57saying on the phone he's in paris
19:58you know or jogging in the cobblestones
20:01or eating with
20:02you know somebody on new year's day
20:04modesto police held a press conference
20:06in which they said it was becoming
20:07apparent that lacy's disappearance
20:09was the result of foul play what they
20:11didn't say was that the investigation
20:13was beginning to focus on scott peterson
20:15as the main suspect
20:18by january 4 10 days after lacey was
20:21reported missing
20:22the police have scott peterson under
20:2424-hour surveillance
20:25but the public doesn't know it
20:30throughout january police divers
20:33continue to comb the bay
20:35they're sure that's where scott has
20:36dumped his pregnant wife
20:38but what if her body doesn't turn up
20:41chief roy wasden discloses now
20:43what he couldn't back then body or
20:46nobody
20:47police are still pushing forward with
20:49their case against scott peterson
20:51was the department ever prepared to
20:55seek an arrest warrant before the body
20:57surfaced
20:58yes in fact the detectives had worked
21:01and discussed
21:02extensively with the district attorney's
21:04office what
21:05what would be required for what's known
21:06as a nobody homicide warrant
21:09and uh and we're moving in that
21:10direction prior to the discovery of the
21:12bodies
21:16scott continues to call amber and
21:19detectives are intent on getting him to
21:21repeat something he told her just before
21:23lacey disappeared
21:24those four short but incriminating words
21:28i lost my wife you came and told me this
21:31elaborate lie
21:32about her missing and this tragedy and
21:34that
21:35and that that this will be the first
21:37holidays without her so yeah i never
21:39said
21:40amber i i god i don't want to fight with
21:42you
21:43so you know that i i never said tragedy
21:46or missing
21:47oh yes you said you've lost your wife no
21:50obviously without me saying much but we
21:52will said that i lost my wife
21:54yes you did i did bingo
21:58this is what investigators needed
22:01for us that was a huge statement on his
22:03part because
22:05how do you how do you predict that i
22:08mean how do you you know you're going to
22:09come up with a lie about that
22:11to try and woo some girl into a romance
22:13that you're not supposed to be part of
22:15and then all of a sudden it comes true i
22:17mean the odds of that are
22:18are pretty far out there the calls
22:21continue
22:22and scott's lies pile up at one point he
22:25tells amber
22:26he's taken a polygraph and passed it
22:29and then an even bolder lie not only did
22:32lacy know about his relationship with
22:34amber
22:34but she accepted it detectives can't
22:37believe what he's trying to get away
22:39with
22:40he really was the ultimate chess game
22:42with him trying to anticipate his
22:44you know next move and what he was going
22:45to do and and listen to what he was
22:47saying and compare it with the facts and
22:49just documenting it i mean it was just
22:51unbelievable
22:52how many lives this guy told the police
22:55already know about scott's lies
22:57now finally the public will too
23:11january 13 2003 20 days since lacey
23:15peterson's disappearance
23:17police learned that the national
23:18enquirer is about to break an explosive
23:20story exposing scott peterson's secret
23:23life
23:24it will reveal that scott peterson had a
23:26mistress while lacey was alive
23:28and pregnant the once close relationship
23:31between scott and lacey's family
23:33is now severed forever and it's only
23:36days before the press
23:37and the public find out who scott's
23:40mystery woman is
23:42amber did you know that scott was a
23:43married man on january 24th
23:46exactly one month since lacey was
23:48reported missing
23:49her husband's lover is forced into the
23:51glare of the spotlight
23:53i met scott peterson november 20th 2002.
23:57i was introduced to him i was told he
23:59was unmarried
24:02scott told me he was not married
24:05we did have a romantic relationship this
24:08is
24:08devastating news for lacey's mother it
24:11basically
24:12allowed sharon to realize her worst
24:15fears and come true because until then
24:17she had
24:18nothing to you know hang her suspicions
24:20on there was nothing that she knew of
24:21course we did
24:22that would confirm for her that you know
24:24lacey probably wasn't coming back
24:27the same day amber comes forward the
24:29roaches make their own public statements
24:31i would like scott to know that i
24:33trusted him and stood by him in the
24:34initial phases of my sister's
24:36disappearance
24:37however scott has not been forthcoming
24:39with information regarding my sister's
24:40disappearance
24:41and i'm only left to question what else
24:43he may be hiding
24:46and even as lacey's family wonders what
24:48happened to her
24:49the police are sure scott knows
24:52on january 26th he's tracked to the
24:55berkeley marina where he sits in his car
24:57gazing at the water this is at least the
25:00fifth
25:01trip he's made to that location what
25:03about all the trips to the to the
25:04berkeley marina he didn't stay very long
25:06he didn't sit up there and watch
25:09the diving teams what do you think he
25:10was doing who knows i mean because he is
25:12so different
25:13from from us um curiosity as to where we
25:16were
25:17uh where the searches were taking place
25:19how close they were to where he left her
25:22maybe to ease his mind if he went up
25:24there long enough and he saw we weren't
25:25close to where she was
25:26oh okay no reason to stick up here
25:28anymore we'll just go back home
25:29that's the only way that i can make
25:31sense out of that
25:33but media interest in the case is white
25:35hot now
25:36and scott can no longer ignore it
25:40with his infidelity public knowledge he
25:42decides to spin it on
25:44national tv i think everybody sitting at
25:47home wants
25:48the answer to the same question did you
25:50murder your wife
25:52no no i just thought and
25:55i had absolutely nothing to do with her
25:57disappearance and
25:58january 28 2003 it's been over a month
26:02since lacey disappeared
26:04now scott sits with diane sawyer on good
26:06morning america
26:07and police are watching for what he says
26:10and how he says it
26:11amber frye came forward i'm glad she did
26:15did you tell her that you were not
26:16married i did
26:18i did and then when lacey disappeared
26:23i called her and admittedly it wasn't
26:25immediately it was a couple days after
26:27lacey's disappearance
26:29i telephoned her and told her the truth
26:33the truth that i was married that lacie
26:36disappeared she didn't know about it at
26:37that point
26:38but amber told investigators that she
26:40found out scott was married
26:42from news reports not from scott it was
26:45pretty powerful to see him
26:46see his word see his lies how harmful do
26:51you think scott's own words
26:53were to him i think very harmful i do
26:56i think that well i think they painted a
26:59true picture of scott peterson
27:01which was you know pretty indicting of
27:05who he is
27:06in the mornings i've been taking the dog
27:08down to the park where she walked
27:11and that's
27:15it's like our time and they said his
27:18time together
27:18when he began to cry and something i
27:20thought was was very strange was
27:22most men i would expect even women will
27:25try and wipe away
27:26tears and he he sat there and let those
27:29flood without ever reaching up
27:32that just kind of goes to what we had
27:35expected all along with him
27:37i mean here's somebody he wants people
27:39to see those tears
27:40i mean he i i would imagine it probably
27:43took some effort for him to squirt those
27:45out
27:45you know let the camera roll and let's
27:47capture those and maybe that's going to
27:49help me later on down the line
27:50investigators aren't the only ones
27:52paying close attention to this interview
27:55amber frye is too were you in love with
27:57her no
27:58what did you think about when you saw
28:01the diane sawyer interview
28:02where she asked him if he loved you and
28:05he said no
28:06it's funny because scott and i talked
28:08about that
28:09and he's like oh yeah i know they cut it
28:11off he said because
28:12they cut out all the other things i said
28:14about you i was like really
28:17obviously i care about you i mean
28:19there's no question
28:20you know he excused it but certainly i
28:23knew
28:23you know i knew better than that by now
28:26five weeks since lacey's disappearance
28:28police are looking for any credible
28:30leads one big one
28:32a car dealer tells them that scott sold
28:34lacy's land rover and bought a new
28:36pickup truck
28:38why would he do that and that's not all
28:40now two other women come forward
28:43claiming affairs with scott peterson i
28:45talked to him
28:46and they were all similar he used the
28:48same
28:50the same approach and it worked
28:53obviously
28:55you know flowers and gifts and he's a
28:58great guy
28:59and he wasn't married and he lied to all
29:01of them and
29:02you know he tricked all of them but when
29:05they caught them
29:06and they dumped them the circle of
29:09suspicion around scott is tightening
29:11but investigators are still hunting
29:13other leads
29:14six thousand tips on the case have come
29:17in but
29:17none exonerate their chief suspect none
29:20of those things had any merit
29:22the only thing that that always stood
29:24the test of suspicion wisconsin
29:29[Music]
29:38february 1st 2003 just over one month
29:41into the lacey peterson case
29:43scott peterson has already backed out of
29:46taking a police polygraph test
29:48but now he tells amber he'll go to an
29:50office where he can take a private one
29:52she should meet him there in half an
29:54hour so
29:55you know of course i'm talking with
29:57modesto police i'd like to not
29:58absolutely do not meet him we'll see you
30:00know
30:01if maybe he'll just go ahead and do it
30:03without you for her safety
30:05amber stays behind but detective
30:07brookini goes ahead and stakes out the
30:09location of the polygraph
30:11i was sitting watching this building
30:13from about three blocks away and all of
30:14a sudden my rear view mirror i see scott
30:16peterson walking up
30:17behind me so i got out and he just
30:20walked right up to me like
30:21we're friends and thanked me for going
30:24on america's most wanted trying to find
30:26lacy and you know
30:28shook my i mean it was just the weirdest
30:31contact you know here i'm in a different
30:35town i'm
30:36staking out a place where he's going to
30:37go and his
30:39thing is hey thanks for going on
30:40america's most wanted
30:42at this point in the investigation
30:44police ask amber to stop recording
30:46scott's calls
30:47they're worried that anything more amber
30:49might say could be used to discredit her
30:51in court
30:53but wiretaps show that scott kept
30:55calling
30:56is there some way for us to see each
30:58other ever i think would help us so much
31:02at this point not like it seems like
31:04just damaging
31:05me even more what did you think when he
31:09called you in february
31:10all this is broken loose people are
31:13really by this point looking
31:15very intensely scott and he calls and
31:17says come to lake arrowhead with me
31:18i really had to talk my talk that whole
31:20situation out because he was
31:22being very persistent and very emotional
31:24about seeing me that he needed to see me
31:31oh okay got him on traffic
31:36i know but you know i could never hurt
31:38you or anyone
31:48february 10th would have been lacy's due
31:50date
31:51that night friends and family hold a
31:53candlelight vigil
31:55and police note that scott is
31:56conspicuously absent
31:58but it's also amber's birthday and scott
32:01does
32:01reach out to her tell me about this
32:04surreptitious birthday drop
32:06right tell me about that there was a
32:08bush that
32:09he had a package under and you know he
32:12described
32:12where it was at and what light post you
32:15know there was the
32:16cd come away with me come away
32:19[Music]
32:24you know it was a little bit almost
32:26morbid thinking you know your wife's
32:28missing and you're sending me the cd
32:30that has great meaning and thought
32:32involved to it
32:34thank you all very much thank you by now
32:36a month and a half since lacey
32:37disappeared
32:38scott's family seems to be his only
32:40defenders
32:41three days after the vigil they hold a
32:43press conference in san diego
32:45to show their support yeah is looking
32:47for laci
32:48that is this whole purpose and he's
32:50continued to do that since day one
32:54investigators note that scott is absent
32:56from the press conference too
33:00but he's busy at home on february 18
33:02when police arrived to serve a second
33:04search warrant
33:05when you went back with a second search
33:07warrant i
33:09understand that cops knocking on the
33:11door boy he's on the phone
33:13trying to cancel some porn channels what
33:15did you think about that
33:16for him to be so cold and so able to
33:19switch gears
33:20and distance himself from this tragedy
33:23to the fact that he has to order porn at
33:24home it's just another piece of evidence
33:26that shows us that
33:28he wasn't concerned about her didn't
33:29want to be a part of her didn't want to
33:31have her in his life and was
33:32so far down the road from moving on that
33:35he could order that eight weeks in
33:38the public is still gripped by this
33:40story and calls continue to flood the
33:42modesto police department
33:45investigators have received more than 8
33:47000 tips by the end of february
33:50then a real break in early march
33:53forensic testing proves what the police
33:55thought
33:55all along the hair found in the pliers
33:58on scott's boat
33:59is consistent with a hair from lacy's
34:02hairbrush
34:03that's the piece that puts it over the
34:05top on march 5th
34:07the police officially reclassify this
34:10case a homicide
34:12as this investigation has progressed we
34:14have increasingly come to believe that
34:16lacey peterson is a victim of violent
34:18crime
34:20but there's still a big problem for the
34:22police they're faced with proving a
34:24homicide without a body
34:26they'll just have to keep working the
34:28circumstantial evidence
34:30and their soul suspect scott peterson
34:34by now even some of his family are
34:36turning against him
34:38things really did not add up over and
34:40over again and
34:41my husband kept saying he has to be
34:43guilty this is just not normal behavior
34:46then on april 13th a gruesome discovery
34:49on the northern shore of san francisco
34:51bay
34:52it's the body of an unborn child
34:55the next day just one mile south another
34:58body washes ashore
35:00after nearly four months of working a
35:02no-body case
35:04it looks like investigators have what
35:06they need to name
35:07scott peterson when the bodies came up
35:10there was no doubt
35:11in my mind we had the right guy
35:18[Music]
35:21april 13 2003 the battered body of a
35:25baby boy is found on the northern shore
35:27of san francisco bay
35:31the next day the remains of a second
35:33body is found on the shoreline
35:34just one mile south we have a pretty
35:38badly decomposed
35:39body that appears to have been in the
35:41water for quite some time
35:43i i think you can infer by the fact that
35:46we've called modesto
35:47police department that we have not
35:49eliminated the fact that it may be a
35:51female victim
35:52investigators have little doubt that
35:54these are the bodies of lacey and connor
35:56peterson
35:57now missing for almost four months but
35:59they have to be sure
36:01we're conducting tests to determine the
36:03identities of the body
36:05and also if the two bodies
36:09the one that was found today and the
36:11baby from yesterday
36:13are related or not the body of the baby
36:15is found
36:16intact this suggests to the coroner that
36:18the baby had been
36:20in utero until very recently the body of
36:22the woman is in far
36:24worse shape missing the head and limbs
36:26so identification is incredibly
36:28difficult
36:29but she's wearing a nursing bra another
36:32clue that she may be lazy
36:36now investigators prepare lacey's family
36:38for these horrific details
36:40before they're reported then they call
36:43scott
36:44he's nowhere to be found were you
36:46worried that he was going to flee
36:48after the first body came up i asked the
36:51department of justice
36:52to try to find him because
36:55we did have a tracker on his truck and
36:58we knew it was down in san diego area
36:59but
37:00um we sent department of justice went
37:03out and they found the truck and
37:04somebody else was driving it
37:06and so i had a fear he was going to flee
37:10on the morning of wednesday april 16th
37:12detective brokini locates scott
37:14through wiretaps on his cell phone
37:17scott's been staying in san diego
37:19at a house belonging to the parents of
37:21his half-sister and bird
37:24he was really better than any dope
37:26dealer i've ever followed around in my
37:28career i mean this guy was counter
37:29surveillance savvy and
37:31you know you really couldn't follow him
37:34every day divers are combing the
37:36churning waters of the bay
37:38looking for more body parts or any
37:40equipment that might have been used to
37:42dispose of the body
37:43scott peterson is spending his time
37:45actively trying to elude the police
37:48he's dyed his hair blonde and grown a
37:50thick goatee
37:51but he knows he's being watched
37:53everywhere
37:55on april 17th a warrant is issued it's
37:57time to arrest scott
38:00but on the morning of april 18th
38:01detective brokini is alerted that scott
38:03is playing a very fast game of cat and
38:06mouse with the police
38:08it was a wild goose chase i mean there
38:09was some people almost got
38:11accidents he was able to elude a
38:13helicopter i mean it was
38:15he was driving um he
38:19almost out of control was there a sense
38:21in following him wondering whether he
38:22would head for the border oh
38:24yeah why would he be driving like that
38:25when he turned into that golf course
38:28maybe it was just to hide out a little
38:29while and turn around and
38:31head for the border but lucky for us we
38:34had some unmarked doj agents that
38:36actually
38:36saw him got on him quick enough and
38:39followed him into that
38:40golf course modesto police rushed to the
38:43scene
38:44they arrive at 11 15 and at last
38:47exactly 115 days after lacey disappeared
38:51after an intense investigation that
38:53transfixed the nation
38:55scott peterson is formally arrested for
38:58the crime of murder
39:00how did he react to it well he acted
39:03like
39:03another day at the park i mean he he
39:07stood there
39:07he was calm he stood there with his
39:10sunglasses on in his beard and i
39:12took his photographs and never said
39:14nothing to me it's clear that scott was
39:16planning to go somewhere for quite a
39:18while
39:20investigators search his car and find
39:22close to fifteen thousand dollars in
39:23cash
39:24three credit cards and camping gear but
39:27there's
39:28more that the public hasn't heard before
39:30one of the things that really wasn't
39:31talked about a lot is he also had
39:33a couple of neckties in there some dress
39:35shirts some dress shoes
39:36i mean he could go from having dinner at
39:38a resort you know
39:39in acapulco to camping up in the
39:42mountains within about you know four
39:44hours
39:45police also find a map of fresno where
39:47amber frye
39:48lives and works could that be where he
39:51was headed next
39:52in hindsight with all you know do you
39:53think he would have been capable of
39:55killing you
39:56you know i just i i really i don't know
39:59and maybe i don't
40:01i just don't want to you know think
40:03about that
40:04after his arrest scott's placed in leg
40:06irons and waist chains
40:07for the long ride back north to the
40:09stanislaus county jail
40:11that was a relatively long ride back
40:13from the location of the arrest to
40:14you know bringing him back up to the
40:16jail what was that like he
40:18sat in the back seat behind me he was
40:19quiet didn't ask hardly any questions at
40:22all
40:22told him we were probably thinking of
40:23hamburgers an in-n-out burger
40:26said he'd have a double double with
40:27cheese and a fry and a vanilla shake
40:31kind of like we were coming back from
40:32fishing now the pieces are falling into
40:34place
40:35on the ride back to modesto the
40:37detectives receive a call
40:39dna results are complete the woman's
40:42body has been positively identified as
40:45lacie peterson
40:46the baby is indeed scott's child
40:52the law requires that the next it can be
40:54notified and ironically
40:56that person is scott peterson now
40:59handcuffed in the back of the police car
41:01charged with their murders
41:06scott peterson's much anticipated trial
41:08begins on june 1st
41:102004 a year and a half since lacey
41:13peterson was reported missing
41:15the trial is a long and grueling one
41:19defense counsel mark garagos pounds the
41:21prosecution as it tries to build its
41:23case
41:24he's out to discredit some of the police
41:26testimony
41:27i think it is fair to say that gergos
41:31really tried to go after you on a couple
41:32of points
41:33and the press picked it up and you
41:36you were at least defense was trying to
41:37make you out as the bad guy case
41:40how difficult was that i've been lead
41:42detectives on a lot of
41:43homicides and to go to court and
41:46be in court and know what happens and
41:48then to come out
41:50i've never seen anything like it and see
41:52it's like
41:53those reporters were not in the same
41:55courtroom i was
41:57it's touch and go at times but in the
41:59end detectives put together the pieces
42:01of the circumstantial puzzle for the
42:03jury
42:04on november 12 2004 almost two years
42:08since that christmas eve when lacey
42:10peterson disappeared
42:11the jury returns with its verdict we're
42:14the jury in the above entitled cause
42:16find the dependent scott lee peterson
42:18guilty of the crime of murder of lacey
42:20denise peterson
42:23and in the penalty phase the decision on
42:25scott peterson's fate
42:26is unanimous peterson has been
42:30sentenced to death for the double murder
42:32of his wife
42:33and his unborn son baby connor when the
42:36verdict came in i literally
42:38was breathless i mean i didn't realize
42:40how
42:41i mean it just it just had an effect i
42:44think we were
42:45we're grateful that we've been able to
42:46hold scott accountable for his actions
42:49i'm proud of the investigation i know
42:52the department the
42:53other detectives they
42:56they sacrificed and they'd do it again
43:00we may never find out what actually
43:02occurred in this house on christmas eve
43:04there's only one person alive to answer
43:06that question and for now
43:08scott peterson is not talking

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